I'm working on a botting software for an online game, and I'm very close to launch (4-6 weeks).

However, I can only run maybe one instance per two CPU cores. I don't want to get eager and shell out for some dedicated hardware just yet, so I was thinking about using Azure, Amazon, Google, or maybe some other cloud VPS to run my bots.

I'm trying to figure out how it works, though. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to cloud hosting. I've only used shared hosting plans on small web hosts...

1) Is the 'per hour' cost presented by Amazon and Microsoft a physical hour? Example: I run 5 bots (each using their own 'instance') over 4 hours using the Azure A2 plan, so I'd be charged $1.58 for 20 hours? Similarly, using the Amazon t2.medium plan, I'd be charged $0.94? As far as I can tell, that's the case with Amazon and Azure. (Haven't looked into Google at all.)

2) Is there any sort of CPU throttling or hidden cost for CPU utilization on lower-end plans (A plans on Azure or t2 plans on Amazon)? My bot software would use upwards of 150%-200% CPU usage (so almost full CPU utilization across both cores). So like the example in 1, I'd be charged $1.58 for 20 hours of 150%-200% CPU usage? Edit: Amazon seems to use some CPU credit system, but I can't find anything about Azure doing the same.

3) Is there any easy way to demo various plans without spending too much? Is it as simple as spinning up an instance and checking performance?

4) I've heard some horror stories about insane bills from hundreds of VMs being spun up, usually out of error or stolen tokens/keys/whatever-they-may-be-called. Assuming I only run a few VMs at once, is there anyway I can rack up an insane bill?

5) Any recommendations for a particular cloud VPS provider? Looking for personal experiences, if possible!

Amazon ECE gives you a free year (IIRc) of their lowest tier. Give it a shot. That's how I used to host my website. =D

I've been trying VMs on my hardware and found my bot needs at least 2 slightly-mid-range CPU cores and about 4 GB RAM. Anything less and it doesn't work well (logic ticks are too long, or the game/bot goes to swap). So I don't think I could try it out on the lowest tier.

How could you say that without no more information than 1) I have a developed a bot 2) The game is an online game 3) the specs I provided.

My bot works by extracting game state from the OpenGL command stream emitted by the game. I'm not only running the game, I'm having to parse sometimes hundreds of megabytes of data per frame in real-time.

This protects me legally and makes for an unbreakable bot. I've survived six months of weekly game updates without a single failure so far. Your bog-standard reverse-engineered game client can't say the same .

Everything performance critical is written in C++ and can't be improved much further.

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I can't imagine that being affordable for constant usage.

My bot is the most advanced bot to exist for my target game. It will be automating things only top tier players are otherwise able to. Assuming I don't get overzealous and decimate the in-game economy, I could walk away with $1.50 per bot per hour. A t2.medium plan is $0.047 per hour assuming there's no CPU utilization restrictions. Even my early launch will be $0.30-$0.50/hour.

I'd like advice from people who have experience using Amazon or Azure.

No, I mean a game automation software for a smaller online RPG. No 'hacking' is being done. I'm only a hacker in the traditional sense:

"A person who enjoys exploring the details of programmable systems and how to stretch their capabilities, as opposed to most users, who prefer to learn only the minimum necessary.. ... A person who delights in having an intimate understanding of the internal workings of a system, computers and computer networks in particular." (The Jargon File).